


How a cat fell in love with the moon

by DieroteRosine



Series: Kuroo Week 2020 [3]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Ancient Egypt, Alternate Universe - Gods & Goddesses, Alternate Universe - Historical, Anal Sex, Ancient Egypt, Ancient Egyptian Literature & Mythology, Ancient History, Clerk Kenma, Curses, Day 3: Historical AU / Doctor, Fantasy, Fluff, Getting Together, Goldsmith Bokuto, Half-Gods, High Priest Kuroo, M/M, Moon Goddess - Freeform, Pharao, Romance, Skin Worship, Smut, Student Tsukishima, Sun God, Teacher Akaashi, Thebes, every analogy I could find for Tsukishima's skin and the sun/moon, kuroo week 2020
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-19
Updated: 2020-08-19
Packaged: 2021-03-06 06:00:58
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,947
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25978633
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DieroteRosine/pseuds/DieroteRosine
Summary: "Kuroo, thank you very much for showing up so early. You can look up."Kuroo did as he was told, but when his eyes wandered up his breath hitched.Next to the Pharaoh, on a small wooden chair, sat a person he had never seen before.The man in front of him was tall, taller than Kuroo, probably even taller than the Pharaoh himself, and looked down at him from above - golden curls fell over the boy's face, behind which golden brown topaz-eyes gleamed curiously at Kuroo.----------1374 B.C.: Kuroo Tetsurou, High Priest at the court of the Pharaoh, gets a new student, but something feels kinda off with the blonde man. And before Kuroo knows it, the young man pulls him under his spell and turns Kuroo's quiet life upside down.
Relationships: Kuroo Tetsurou/Tsukishima Kei
Series: Kuroo Week 2020 [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1883374
Comments: 10
Kudos: 185
Collections: Kuroo Week 2020





	How a cat fell in love with the moon

**Author's Note:**

> Here we have it: my baby.  
> I'm seriously in love with this story and if I haven't stopped myself it would've gotten even longer than yet.
> 
> I researched way too many hours all kind of information to make it as correct as possible, I hope it's worth it! 
> 
> Kudos and comments are as always welcome and I hope you have as much fun with this story as I had :)

1374 B.C.  
The hot midday sun burned relentlessly over the dusty streets of _Thebes_ , bathing the city surrounded by sand dunes in a cloak of shimmering heat. Palm trees gently leaned to the tune of the shepherds and traders on the Luxor, who even now were selling their wares - although the sun made every creature flee into the shadows. Groaning camels made their way through the deserted streets. And every now and then stray dogs scurried back and forth between the food stalls, hoping to get hold of a few pieces of meat.  
  
In the shadow of _Malqata_ , the temple of the Pharaoh, guards stood quietly and gave every newcomer observing glances.  
  
In the midst of them was Kuroo Tetsurou, high priest of pharaoh _Amenhotep III_. and was just about to stow some new medicinal herbs in his pockets. A breeze caught his scarf, which he had tied in front of his face to protect himself from the burning midday sun, and gave a view of the young man's tanned skin. In the distance the shouts of the traders echoed across the square as Kuroo quickly sought protection in one of the side passages of Malqata and brushed the sand from his clothes. Normally he would have postponed all visits to the market until late in the evening, when the moon had already risen and a long-awaited coolness would come to Thebes.  
  
But on that day Amenhotep III. had him called to his rooms early in the morning with the request to make an ointment that could heal his pain-ridden hand. After Kuroo had spent the rest of the morning searching through the scrolls of his old master, he quickly came across a paste that should at least temporarily alleviate the pain of his master. But as fate would have it, all the herbs he needed for the cream had meanwhile disappeared from his supplies. That left him with no other choice than to go into the sandstorm that had been raging around Thebes for days.  
  


Kuroo was just about to remove the remaining sand from his black hair when he heard voices from the main corridor that led towards the throne room.  
  
“It's actually quite surprising. Right now and also from Lord Tsukishima. I didn't even know they had two heirs to the throne in Edfu. Let alone that they're both already old enough."  
  
The second voice gave a hoarse laugh and Kuroo folded the remaining bunches of herbs before following the people into the main aisle.  
"Yes, Tsukishima seems to have really been fooling us into simply arriving with such a meaningful request. As if he were the only lord with children this age."  
  
The voices got quieter the further they went and Kuroo loosened his shoulders - he couldn't stand most of the Pharaoh's guards. Too often they had already put his skills as a healer to the test with nonsensical arguments and after the fifth broken nose from a bar fight, Kuroo had loudly opposed being responsible for their concerns. Much to the displeasure of the guards, who then started their own little feud against Kuroo - mostly without success.  
  
Lost in thought, Kuroo stepped into his room and almost instantly slipped the long, dusty robes from his shoulders. Among them, the high priest wore a long white robe that stretched to his ankles and was covered by a red robe down to his lower leg. The young man had a gilded linen belt tied around his waist, while the remainder of his robe was adorned with gold and black tendrils that ran in serpentine paths to his stand-up collar.  
  
Due to his young age, Kuroo had to forego the honors of a headband - a headdress that was given to the highest high priests as soon as they had served long enough under a pharaoh.  
  
At the moment, only black, tar-like hair was pouring in wild strands over the man's shoulders and was only held together by a golden scarab plug on the back of the head. His sandals were embellished with small cat symbols in the leather and always reminded everyone of the court under which god Kuroo had come to them. The great Bastet, protective goddess of love and seekers, had Kuroo at the age of 18 enter at the court of Amenhotep III. and kept to an eye on him as the young man rose from a simple priest to high priest within a few years. Now at the age of 24, Kuroo was considered one of the closest confidants of the Pharaoh, enjoyed great respect among the people and did everything in his power to meet everyone's expectations.  
  
Recently the pharaoh had found pleasure in burdening him with the task of being an instructor and so it happened that Kuroo now had to take in young men from all over Egypt at regular intervals, in order to bring them closer to the teachings of the healing art. If you asked him, it was definitely a worthwhile task, because in some months apprentices from _Bubastis_ got lost in Malqata and were able to tell him about the events in his home country.  
  
It filled him with peace when they talked about how green the fields had become, how rich the harvest was and how peacefully the lord ruled over their land - after all, Kuroo had left behind not only his home but also his family at the age of 18, and wasn't able to see them since then. Every now and then falcons from Bubastis would reach him, mostly from his cousin, who talked extravagantly about how _proud_ they were of him and that they would hopefully see each other soon. But what Kuroo never mentioned in any of his reply letters was, that as high priest he could never leave the palace without relinquishing all his dignities. The Pharaoh's safety was paramount and under no circumstances would a visit "abroad" be allowed to endanger this safety. Kuroo always replied that he "would be happy", but "currently had a lot to do."  
  
At least some "home" remained when he received the news two years after his arrival, that his best childhood friend had got an apprenticeship at Luxor and shortly afterwards moved into the rooms at the other end of Malqata to take up his job as a clerk. _Kenma_ , a short man with blond-brown hair and a skin that was clearly too pale for a life in the desert, had already strengthened his position at court so much after a year that he, just like Kuroo, was no longer allowed to leave the court.  
  
While Kuroo's tasks extended to medicine, diseases and the training of other priests, Kenma was required to translate and transcribe ancient texts and to archive them until late at night. On some days the two men sat in the shade of a large palm tree on the edge of the ceremonial lake and Kenma read his translations of old early Byzantine letters to Kuroo, while the man with the black hair flicked small stones in the pond and listened to the calls of birds in the trees.  
  
Two other familiar people had already joined Kuroo after his arrival at Luxor - the teacher _Akaashi_ and his partner _Bokuto_ , who worked as a goldsmith at the court.  
  
Already at the beginning of their friendly relationship, Kuroo had noticed the close intimacy of the two men, but the subject never came up until one day he discovered Akaashi in Bokuto's bed, wearing nothing but the delicate gold necklace that Bokuto had given him. After some back and forth, the true relationship between the two men had come to light and Kuroo's world, which at that time was still characterized by rural life and its one-sidedness, opened up to completely new possibilities.

He learned from Akaashi that the ancient writings of earlier pharaoh's already spoke of love between men - even the two gods Horus and Seth were said to have a romantic relationship and the more time Kuroo spent with Bokuto and Akaashi, the more normal became the sight of brief kisses, tender looks and loving hugs between the two men.  
  
Kenma's reaction to this revelation was, as expected, unspectacular. The young man had shrugged his shoulders and went back to his texts. On a later request from Kuroo, the man had said that such things didn't interest him. Physical closeness was exhausting, “way too warm” and overall overrated. After this statement the subject faded into the background and Kuroo continued to live his life in the service of the Pharaoh, undisturbed by earthly wishes or desires.  
  
Until the day when he hurried to the market in the midday sun to get herbs and overheard the conversation between the guards.

The man in the red and white robe hurried down the cool corridors of Malqata. The path lead him directly into the throne room of Amenhotep III, who had invited him for an important conversation late in the evening after his visit to the market.  
  
Kuroo knew from personal experience that under no circumstances should the Pharaoh be kept waiting, especially when he was talking about "important matters". Whatever the pharaoh had put into his head again, the discussion of the whole thing seemed to tolerate no delay. Therefore Kuroo followed the corridors shrouded in torchlight, his hurried steps echoing from the stone walls and each of his movements were watched by the disparaging eyes of the guards.  
  
When Kuroo stepped through one of the large steamed doors into the throne room, the smell of roasted pork and sweet wine flooded his nose, which instantly mixed with the scents of candles and incense clouding his head.  
  
Kuroo bowed briefly in front of the person seated on the gold-studded throne and knelt, head bowed to the ground. No one was allowed to look the Pharaoh in the face until they were expressly asked to do so.  
A wine-torn voice cleared its throat.  
  
"Kuroo, thank you very much for showing up so early. You can look up."  
  
Kuroo did as he was told, but when his eyes wandered up his breath hitched. Next to the Pharaoh, on a small wooden chair, sat a person he had never seen before.  
  
The man in front of him was tall, taller than Kuroo, probably even taller than the Pharaoh himself, and looked down at him from above - golden curls fell over the boy's face, behind which golden brown topaz-eyes gleamed curiously at Kuroo. If Kenma had fair skin, then this man's skin had to be made of the purest white silk, because the dark green robes contrasted sharply with the skin, almost making it glow.

The man's long, thin legs were only half covered by the robe when he was seated, revealing flawless skin, delicate gold chains on the ankles and a black tendril that had wrapped itself around the skin of the thigh like a snake. From his position Kuroo could clearly see the man's fine hands, delicate fingers so elegant that they probably never touched a tool, let alone used it.  
  
The tender smile playing around the lips of the newcomer made Kuroo's entire body tingle pleasantly, almost as if it wanted to challenge him to speak to him.  
  
After a moment of silence Kuroo became aware of how extremely offensive he had just stared at the Pharaoh's guest and he immediately bowed his head in shame. To have such thoughts in the presence of the almighty pharaoh, had they been spoken out loud, would mean execution for every ordinary servant. For this very reason, Kuroo remained in the position until Amenhotep III. cleared his throat again.  
"You can lift your head even if you haven't greeted my guest yet."

"Excuse me, your glory," muttered Kuroo, "I hadn't expected visitors that late and was a bit surprised to see someone else next to you."  
  
The Pharaoh gave a small laugh. “Of course, you couldn't have known anything about the visit. To be honest, I didn't know anything about him until a few hours ago, but I ask you now to get up and keep us company."  
  
Kuroo nodded resignedly and straightened up, trying not to look back at the gleaming white creature next to Amenhotep III. Whoever the man was, his presence made Kuroo want to enclose him in a protective embrace and at the same time let his hands wander over the snow-white skin.  
  
He registered with horror that he had once again let his eyes wander over the body of the other in his thoughts and winced when the Pharaoh began to speak.  
"Kuroo, as you know, I swore to all my lords of the 42 districts that their sons would always find a place at my court should they decide against taking over the lord's place in their homeland."  
  
Kuroo nodded dazedly, eyes fixed on the floor. "Now it's the case that one of my lords from the state of Edfu has decided to leave his youngest son in our care.”  
  
The Pharaoh snapped his finger and immediately a servant came running, holding a goblet with wine, from which the Pharaoh was sipping with relish.  
After a brief moment of silence, he continued. "His son, _Tsukishima Kei_ , should be taught by you in the teachings of the healing arts from today on."  
  
Kuroo's gaze jerked up, where the Pharaoh gave him a blissful smile.  
"But your glory, didn't you say a week ago that I should have an apprentice from Wadijt next month?"  
“Absolutely, but plans are changing. We have already sent the rejection to the Prince of the snake district, I'm sure his son will be better off in another profession."  
  
Kuroo stared at Amenhotep III. in confusion and briefly his gaze twitched to the blond man, Tsukishima Kei, who was still sitting in silence next to the Pharaoh, looking at him with shining eyes.  
"You see, Kuroo, the Tsukishima family has always been an important part of the state and -", the Pharaoh paused, the brief exchange of looks between him and the boy did not go unnoticed by Kuroo, "their pottery art is unparalleled anywhere in the world."  
  
Kuroo wisely avoided a comment, even if he could see the unspoken fact, that this was just a lie. But should the Pharaoh have decided to leave him in the dark about the real reason for admitting the Tsukishima son, he would accept it.  
  
For the first time that evening the blond man raised his voice, Kuroo's arm hair stood up instantly at the velvety soft and yet teasing voice that addressed him.  
“I'll be in your care from now on, Kuroo-san. Thank you for the opportunity.", An amused smile flickered briefly over the blond's face, before his facial features relaxed again and looked at him completely neutrally.  
  
As if in a trance, Kuroo nodded and bowed slightly to Amenhotep III., who waved them out of his room.  
“I'll bring Tsukishima to his rooms now, your glory. Please allow us to leave."  
  
“Has been granted.”, The Pharaoh cleared his throat one last time before Kuroo could reach the door with Tsukishima attached, “Oh, Kuroo, please make sure that Tsukishima never leaves the Luxor alone. Especially not at day."  
  
Before Kuroo could ask what exactly the Pharaoh meant with that, the heavy doors were closed behind him and he was again wrapped in the cool darkness of the hallways - only this time not alone.

The walk back through the corridors to their apartments seemed to Kuroo like the walk to the scaffold. His heart was beating unusually fast and an unrelenting restlessness had settled over his body, while the blond man walked silently through the darkness beside him. After what felt like an eternity, in which Kuroo was indulging in his confused thoughts and had asked himself for the umpteenth time what exactly was the reason for the young man's sudden arrival, they reached Kuroo's study and bedroom.  
  
There has always been a small chamber directly behind the high priest's study room, with nothing more than two beds, a table and a chest for any personal belongings. Kuroo spent his evenings here when neither Kenma nor Bokuto and Akaashi could sacrifice their precious time to him. Directly above the second bed, which was uninhabited at the time, a barred window opened to the outside world.  
If you sat in the window sill you could see the ceremonial lake glittering in the moonlight and every now and then a few guards would pass under the window at night and tell Kuroo about their day.  
  
On nights like this, when Kuroo served the Pharaoh until late in the evening or sat making ointments, the stories of the guards offered a welcome change from everyday life. As high priest he played an important role in the life of the Pharaoh, but he didn't get far around in Thebes. On the rare days off, his feet usually carried him into the desert, far away from city life and he spent hours with various plants outside of Thebes before his way led him at night to a tavern and then back to the palace.  
  
When he had a student again, he was usually already waiting for him in his room, eager to hear about his newfound knowledge. Because as a teacher it was his duty to offer his students accommodation in his chambers.  
  
So also now, when the blond man with the snow-white skin strode past him and sat down on the mat made of straw and thin linen. Kuroo's breath caught as the moonlight fell from the window on the young man's neck.  
  
Silvery moonbeams wandered down his body like waves, bathing the silhouette in shining light and if Kuroo couldn't have been sure that this was a human in front of him, he would have knelt down and prayed that this god would forgive him for being hit with his earthly gaze.  
  
"I assume this will be my place to stay for the next few years?", The boy's voice dripped like honey into Kuroo's brain and he managed a half-hearted nod before he reconsidered his duties and bowed slightly again.  
  
"I haven't introduced myself correctly yet, I'm afraid." His gaze wandered to Tsukishima's hands, unsure whether he should take them as usual, but his decision was made for him when the young man tentatively touched his hands and it felt like chasing a thousand crawling scarabs through his body.  
  
"No need. Amenhotep III. has already spoken extensively about you and your talents in the medical field, if I may say that, Kuroo-san. High priest at 24 years of age, you must be really talented _with your hands_ if the Pharaoh entrusts you with such an important role at such an age. I'm _really_ impressed, Kuroo-san."  
  
During his remarks, Tsukishima had barely noticeably let his thumb wander over the back of Kuroo's hand and it cost the black-haired man all the effort not to tremble under the delicate touch of the other. Something in the way Tsukishima emphasized each of his sentences, looking at him out of those infinitely deep golden eyes and painting almost incidentally small patterns in Kuroo's skin, made his mouth drier than the desert and his stomach tingle.

An unfamiliar heat built up inside him and suddenly he noticed that his pants had become unusually tight.  
Tsukishima's knowing eyes remained fixed on his face and only briefly, for a tiny moment, something like curiosity flickered in the blonde's face.  
  
"However, I suspect you haven't heard much about me yet.", Another harder line on the back of Kuroo's hand, "so if I could briefly introduce myself?"  
  
As if nothing had happened, Tsukishima straightened up again, Kuroo's hands fell to his side without any self-control and he stared at the man in front of him with confused eyes.  
“My name is Kei Tsukishima, you can call me Kei if you like. I come from the Edfu kingdom, two days' journey from here, and am the youngest son of the Tsukishima family. My brother- ”, a brief frown, which Kuroo did not miss, “has decided to take our father's place as soon as the gods will take him. Since I no longer have a place in our kingdom, my father sent me to you. I'm supposed to learn everything from you here that I need to make a passable high priest. After my training, I will return to Edfu and rule the country at my brother's side."  
  
Now it was up to Tsukishima to slightly bow his head. "I hope I will learn a lot from you quickly, so that I can take my place at my brother's side as soon as possible, Kuroo-san."  
  
It was as if the man before Kuroo wasn't the same man who, a minute ago, had been not so innocently stroking his hand and shower him with compliments. The Tsukishima now had no flashing eyes, his features were emotionless and an almost cold train had formed around the corners of his mouth. As if he didn't mean a word of what he said. 

  
But before Kuroo could dig deeper into the depths of his analysis, Tsukishima suddenly yawned and stretched his arms, leaning against the cool wall behind him.  
"Sorry if I interrupt our short conversation, but I've been on the road for several days and sleep is not really relaxed in the desert, so I would be very grateful if we could go to our beds promptly."  
  
"Of course, how rude of me.", Kuroo muttered, "You must be exhausted from the trip, Tsukishima-kun. Please make yourself at home."  
  
Tsukishima raised an eyebrow at the use of his family name. Kuroo could see the unspoken comment on his tongue, but then the blonde just nodded and before Kuroo could even react and turn away, the man pulled his green tunic off his body.  
  
And if Kuroo had previously thought that this man was like a god - there was absolutely no doubt now.  
  
The moonlight fell over the bare skin of his back and Tsukishima seemed to literally _glow_. Dressed only in a loincloth, the young man folded his robes and carefully draped them at the end of his bed before turning back to Kuroo. The high priest hadn't managed to take his eyes off the glowing skin of the other and swallowed dryly when Tsukishima bent down. Suddenly he became painfully aware of his underwear being way too tight.  
  
Such thoughts, such feelings - Kuroo had usually only felt such a thing when he woke up in the morning and felt an uncomfortable heat in his crotch, but now - now the heat almost seemed to want to swallow him, his skin burned so much at the sight of the blond man in front of him. An amused giggle brought Kuroo out of his indecent thoughts and made him realize that Tsukishima had long since turned to face him and caught him staring.  
  
Affected and embarrassed, he looked down. "Excuse me! I didn't mean to look at you like that. It's just - ", he swallowed dryly, “your skin. It shines in the moonlight, I've never seen anything like that."

The blond man paused, then giggled again, maybe a smile played on his lips, Kuroo didn't dare lift his head.  
“Don't apologize for such thoughts, Kuroo-san. I've been told many times that my skin looks like marble or silk. It's only natural to be confused if you've never seen that before."  
  
Something like a knot formed in Kuroo's stomach at Tsukishima's words. He didn't like that other people, _maybe even other men_ , had told Tsukishima how incredibly fascinating his skin looked.  
Especially not because his skin didn't look like dull marble or silk.

No, it shone like silvery _moonlight_ , gleamed like the brightest star and Kuroo found it difficult to find a suitable adjective that would do justice to the beauty of this skin. Every smallest movement of Tsukishima stood out like color on his skin, the muscles in his stomach defined for the otherwise lean or downright thin figure of the man.  
  
And again he stared.  
  
And Tsukishima let him stare, let him glance at every millimeter that could be caught in the moonlight. And even if Kuroo wanted to look him in the eye, _to Bastet, he really wanted,_ he couldn't prevent his gaze from wandering over the flawless legs, to his flat stomach and the sharp-edged collarbones. Only when his eyes met the other's golden topaz-eyes again, a warm shower ran down Kuroo's back and he shook his head.  
  
In his position, under no circumstances should he think like that about any of his students, even if they were of age and stared at him provocatively from above.  
With a hoarse clearing of his throat, Kuroo straightened up and turned around so that Tsukishima was behind him - the faint hope in the back of his mind that he would come back to his senses when he no longer had to directly see the moonlight enveloped body of the other.  
  
But just as his heartbeat slowly began to calm down he felt a hot breath on his ear and it cost him all the effort not to jerk away from it.  
  
"Good night, _Kuroo-san._ "  
  
And as quickly as the breath came, it was gone. When Kuroo turned around shortly afterwards, Tsukishima was already lying in bed with his back to him and seemed to be sleeping blissfully.  
  
The heat between Kuroo's legs did not disappear the entire night. And so the high priest sneaked out of the room early in the morning and buried himself in his research, only to forget the blond angel who was sleeping peacefully one room further.

The crickets chirped in the slowly rising sun of the new day as Kuroo sat long before all the other servants at the ceremonial lake and let his feet dangle in the cool water. He hadn't closed a single eye that night. Too often the image of the sleeping blond man flickered before his inner eye and made his heart beat faster than he wanted.  
  
Already that night Kuroo had asked himself whether Bokuto felt something like that whenever he looked at Akaashi - this bottomless feeling of lightness, the desire to embrace the other and - _that made him blush the most_ \- that desire to trace the other person's body inch by inch with teeth and tongue and leave clues everywhere that this person was already taken.  
  
Just the thought of how Tsukishima's pale skin would gradually turn red under his hands, how unspeakably elegant bite marks would look on him and how much he wanted to kiss the golden locks from his neck made Kuroo groan in frustration. How could he, with a clear conscience, start teaching this very boy in an hour, whom he saw in his head since yesterday evening only lightly or not at all dressed?  
  
A stone fell noisily into the water and Kuroo raised his head only to be confronted with the manifestation of his wet dreams.  
  
Tsukishima stood a few meters away, wrapped in a bright white hooded tunic and still half asleep, and smiled unfathomably at him.  
"Good morning, Kuroo-san.", The blond man nodded and Kuroo needed all his persuasiveness to return the smile. "Good morning, Tsukishima-kun."  
  
“I already said -”, the smile faded for a brief moment, “please call me Kei. Tsukishima is my brother."  
  
The smile returned almost immediately, but it didn't reach the blonde's eyes like the first time and Kuroo wondered what was hidden behind Tsukishima's friendly facade and why he always wore an almost pained smile.  
"If you wish, Kei-kun."  
"Yes.", The young man cocked his head and kicked another stone into the water. "It's better this way. Thank you, Kuroo-san."  
  
Kuroo didn't know exactly what was going through his mind, he usually put a lot of emphasis on his students accepting him as a teacher, also or maybe precisely because he was often not much older than his apprentices and this had led them to sometimes became rebellious towards him.  
But when he looked into Tsukishima's honey-colored eyes, his mouth opened all by itself.  
"If you want, you can also call me Tetsurou."  
  
For a moment the blonde seemed surprised by the offer, but then an amused smile flickered over the pale face and he stepped closer until he was right next to Kuroo at the water and eyed the black-haired man from above.  
"How could I say no to such an offer, _Tetsurou-san_." It could perhaps be attributed to Kuroo's sleep-deprived brain, but his name had never sounded better to him than from Tsukishima's mouth.  
  
A slight shiver ran down his back before he asked the question that had been burning on his tongue since the blonde's arrival here at the lake.  
"May I ask what you're doing here this early in the morning, Kei-kun?"  
Another quiet giggle escaped the man and he turned to Kuroo so that he could look at him cheekily from the side. "Why do you ask? Are you afraid that I followed you?"  
"Oh no, but there is still an hour until your training begins and I still remember my schooling, I enjoyed every second of my free time." Kuroo laughed and scratched the back of his head, embarrassed.  
  
Again he was given an amused smile, this time paired with a cheeky blink of an eye.

  
"But was your instructor also so extremely -", a long look over Kuroo's body, " _attractive_?"

  
Kuroo's answer got stuck in his throat and again he felt how the heat shot into his southern body region, reflected in his presumably fiery red ears and oh - you didn't even have to start with his pounding heart.  
  
"Wha-?", Was all the high priest managed to choke out. That earned him a wink from the blonde and another far too long look before the young man turned around in one flowing movement and walked towards the palace with a short wave – leaving a completely overwhelmed and aroused Kuroo behind.

The first hours of the joint lessons dragged on into the late afternoon and just as Thebes slowly came back to life after the blazing midday sun, Kuroo hurried down the corridors of the Malqata. He didn't have to look far to find his friends - Akaashi had already finished his lessons a few hours ago and was preparing the lessons for tomorrow in Kenma's presence, while Bokuto sat next to them on the floor and wrote out the ingredients he needed for the pharaoh's new jewelry.  
  
All three raised their heads as Kuroo stormed into the room with a loud "I need your help!" and dropped dramatically onto one of the many benches. Kenma's and Akaashi's study room was much more spacious than his and all over the room there were various seating options, above which meter-high shelves with slate sheets and papyrus rolls stretched upwards.  
  
With a groan, Kuroo buried his face in a pillow and let his arms dangle limply while his three friends shot each other questioning looks.  
"Tetsu.", that came from Kenma, "what's going on?"  
"Kei Tsukishima - that's going on.", growled the black-haired man and waved in the approximate direction in which he assumed his three friends were.  
  
Again silence. "Who or what is a Kei Tsukishima?" Bokuto asked quietly, apparently in a whisper to Akaashi, but still loud enough that everyone in the room could hear it.  
Kuroo turned on his back with a groan and let one hand dance thoughtfully through the incoming rays of sunshine.  
  
"Kei Tsukishima is -", a deep sigh, "a god sent being, with a tongue sharper than any saber and legs that reach to the moon." Theatrically, he touched his chest. "And I don't even want to begin with how perfect his skin is."  
  
"Oh God.", Kenma mumbled and went back to his texts, "here we go."  
"Tetsu!", Bokuto made a leap forward, all of his documents fluttering around.  
The tall goldsmith pulled Kuroo into a tight hug and beamed at him with wide eyes. “That sounds like you've found your Seth! What good news!"  
"Now take it easy, Kou." Akaashi rose from his desk, stepped slowly closer and loosened Bokuto's bone-breaking embrace around Kuroo. “It would be very unfavorable if you strangle the only high priest of the Pharaoh. Please give Tetsurou-san the chance to explain himself."  
  
And that's what Kuroo did. He told the three men in detail everything he knew about the blonde man from Edfu and also did not leave out the nocturnal feelings and the early morning conversation in his remarks. Furthermore, he tore apart every interactions of their first lessons, even if these were quite minimal due to the presence of other instructors and apprentices in the large classroom. For Bokuto, however, this seemed to be enough information. The man had a big grin on his face when Kuroo mentioned the visit to the lake and was jerking excitedly up and down.  
  
After Kuroo had finished his remarks, he looked up and received three completely different emotions. Bokuto, as already mentioned, shone brighter than the hot midday sun and seemed to be barely able to stay in his seat, whereas Akaashi frowned and looked thoughtful and Kenma gave him a downright bored expression.

"So, what do you think?", Kuroo mumbled and wiped a few strands from his face.  
“I'm absolutely thrilled!" exulted Bokuto, "and you Keiji?"  
The man next to him tilted his head thoughtfully before he asked: “An you really don't know why Amenhotep III. decided so suddenly for him instead of the apprentice from the snakes?"  
Kuroo shook his head and Akaashi nodded slowly. "Then unfortunately I cannot agree with your opinion, Kou." His partner's shoulders sagged. “It is unusual for plans that have already been agreed to be thrown overboard in such a way. There's something special about the boy. And that's why I would be careful if I were you. At least until you know what is hidden behind the boy's sudden appearance."  
Kenma nodded in agreement and then lightly squeezed Kuroo's hand. "Just try to keep your head clear."  
  
And with a small grin, the man added. "And if not, then at least make sure that everyone sees that he belongs to you."  
"Kenma!", Kuroo and Akaashi echoed at the same time, while Bokuto started to laugh out loud and almost swept Kenma off his chair with a blow on the back.

The sun was already low over the sand dunes and cast an orange light over the silhouette of the city when Kuroo entered his study and put a heavy curtain in front of the window to keep at least some of the evening coolness in the room. Sighing, he took a seat on the bench under the window and looked at the sunlight, which was still making its way through the fabric, drawing patterns in the dusty air.  
  
A noise made him spin around, but he relaxed immediately as his gaze fell on the head of blonde hair that rose between some shelves.  
"Good evening, Tetsurou-san.", Tsukishima's voice sounded like a sung melody in Kuroo's head and he nodded to the blonde with a smile.  
“Kei-kun, what is it that drives you to study so late in the evening? Have you not had enough of the many hours this morning?"  
  
In response he received an amused snort and shortly afterwards the blonde appeared between the shelves and sat down next to Kuroo on the only bench in the room.  
"As I explained to you yesterday, I want to learn a lot and what could be better than studying your writings?"  
“Yes, I remember, but believe me. You will hardly internalize all of our teachings in less than three years, even if you worked day and night."  
Tsukishima wrinkled his nose and looked at Kuroo for a moment as if he had just offended him deeply.  
“You underestimate me, Tetsuro-san. In addition - ", again an illegible smile crept into his face," I already said that I'm _very_ interested in learning from you. "  
  
He leaned forward a little, so that his hand now came to rest right next to Kuroo's thigh, which the black-haired man didn't miss. IT gave him another pleasant shiver.  
“I already noticed you when I arrived that afternoon. If I remember correctly, you just bought new herbs for the Pharaoh on the market, didn't you? "  
  
Kuroo paused and looked at Tsukishima's challenging eyes.  
"Sorry, but I didn't notice you there, Kei-kun."  
The blonde laughed softly and Kuroo drew in a sharp breath, because this noise sounded like a bright bell ringing and did things with his body that he would rather not talk about.  
“You couldn't see me either.”, The hand moved a little closer, barely noticeably brushing Kuroo's robe, “You were so absorbed in the merchants' displays that you could hardly recognize me. I also wore a black linen robe that hid my face. God knows, most of them probably thought I was a gravedigger."  
Another amused giggle and a cautiously wandering index finger that playfully brushed Kuroo's thigh.  
  
The high priest clenched his teeth to stop an inappropriate shudder, but the goose bumps on his forearms were hard to miss. Tsukishima clicked lightly with his tongue, one eyebrow raised. He continued to run his finger completely unhindered over Kuroo's leg, apparently fully aware of the agony he subjected Kuroo, because an almost dreamy smile played around the blonde's lips.  
“You know,” he continued, “I've always wondered what it would be like to be away from home. But now I have to honestly say that every second I miss my family less."  
  
This sentence brought Kuroo out of his trance and he wiped Tsukishima's finger away, who was still painting indecent patterns on Kuroo's leg.  
“Don't say something like that. You are only three days away from your family. If it were up to me, I would visit my relatives every month. But I'm trapped here in some ways. As a prize for the Pharaoh's eternal company, I had to leave my family behind. You still have the opportunity to come back and help your brother. So don't speak as if you don't care about your family."  
  
Tsukishima jerked away from Kuroo's hands and suddenly stared at him with cool eyes - almost like yesterday's conversation about his family. The blonde stood up with one smooth movement, the distance between them suddenly very painfully aware.  
"You don't _know_ what you are talking about.", Tsukishima growled and the coldness of his voice gave Kuroo a sting. “I'm going to go to the market now. Amenhotep urged you not to let me go alone, so I would ask you to come with me, _Kuroo-san._ "  
Kuroo noticed that Tsukishima no longer spoke to him by his first name and tried to breathe away the uneasy feeling in his stomach.  
  
He straightened up stiffly and pointed to the door. "After you, _Tsukishima-kun_."

The walk to the market place was silent and even if Kuroo kept throwing furtive glances at his companion, Tsukishima didn't seem to be in the mood to talk to him. Something exceeded his horizon what exactly had triggered the sudden silence between them, but as the day before, a conversation about the family had led to the defensive attitude of the blonde. While Kuroo was racking his mind about what could've happened in the Tsukishima house that the young man reacted so negatively, the two men reached the market square.  
  
Almost instantly the smells of the most varied of estates poured in on them. Smell of fish mixed with the luscious sweetness of honey and in the distance one could catch the pungent smell of pickled meat. Children ran past the two men laughing loudly, stray dogs ducked under the tables and groups of people made their way through the stands at the Luxor. Thebes was a well-visited city in every season, but especially in the summer months it was regularly flooded by traders and travelers from all over the world.  
  
Kuroo involuntarily stepped closer to Tsukishima as he naturally snaked through the crowds and occasionally stopped at one of the stands and looked at the goods. Maybe only five minutes had passed or several hours, Kuroo could no longer judge, all he concentrated on was the cautious smile that crossed Tsukishima's face in some moments when he believed himself unobserved. The blonde man breathed in the scent of the booth where they were standing and a brief look of nostalgia came into the young man's eyes.  
  
Since Tsukishima and Kuroo had left the palace, they hadn't exchanged a word, but the longer they walked next to each other, the more Kuroo noticed little peculiarities that he probably wouldn't have noticed in a simple conversation.  
  
For example, Tsukishima wrinkled his nose every time they came to a stand selling scriptures from the distant western world, almost as if he could immediately see that scripts were forged and of no value. Kuroo wondered what training the man had received to be able to decipher the texts in front of them. Another peculiarity was the nervous typing on the table of the booth where they were. At first Kuroo had only taken it for his imagination, but soon he saw the index finger drumming on every booth. Tsukishima also seemed to have a thing for sweet foods, even if he really tried hard not to make it look too obvious. However, he couldn't walk past any of the food stalls that offered sweet dates, honey pancakes or fig jelly.  
  
At a moment when Tsukishima was talking to a trader about the jewelry displayed, Kuroo rushed to the stand next to it and got two servings of honey pancakes with sweet dates. Tsukishima eyed the food out of the corner of his eye for the next two stalls until Kuroo gave him one pancake with a slight bow.  
  
"As an excuse. You're right, I know nothing about you and your family, so if you may forgive me. I will avoid the topic in the future."  
The slight red sheen that then flickered over Tsukishima's face convinced Kuroo that he had found the right approach and as if a switch had been flicked, Tsukishima seemed to relax visibly in his presence afterwards. Even if he took the pancake with a snort and a gruff shrug, Kuroo caught him again and again giving him furtive smiles.  
  
Soon they were walking so close together that Kuroo could feel the warmth of the body next to him and their fingers brushed repeatedly as if by chance. The previous tension was blown away. Kuroo only realized why he was here in the first place, when Tsukishima's hood was blown off in the first cool gust of wind of the evening and revealed a glimpse of the golden shimmering curls and the pale glowing skin.  
  
 _It was like a wave_.  
  
Everyone around them turned and stared at Tsukishima.  
  
Even Kuroo needed a whole moment to process the sudden sight - he had only seen Tsukishima in the light of torches or in the moonlight, but now in the brilliant light of the evening he suddenly understood why he should never leave the man alone.  
  
There, in the midst of the many thousands of sales stands, surrounded by hundreds of curious people and only protected by a black robe, stood the most _beautiful_ man Kuroo had ever seen.

The glaring sunlight got caught in Tsukishima's hair like a net and made it shine like liquid gold, the light skin on the face and neck shone even more intensely than the night before and a real shimmer came from the man, all the people around him getting pulled under the spell. Caravans turned into stalls in surprise, children stopped playing and women sighed, moved when they caught a glimpse of Tsukishima. The man stood like an angel in the midst of the crowds and it took two heartbeats before Tsukishima had released himself from his own trance and pulled on the hood of his tunic.  
  
The next thing Kuroo knew was that he was being dragged by Tsukishima towards Malqata. Tsukishima only let go of his hand when they had put the guards and the first protective walls behind them.  
  
Sighing, Tsukishima slumped and took a shaky breath, in no way relieved. It looked more like he was about to burst into tears and it only took Kuroo to quietly mumble "Everything okay?" until the first tears filled the corner of his eyes. Overstrained but alarmed, Kuroo took a step closer and carefully hugged the trembling man. As if the gesture had loosened a dam, Tsukishima sobbed and buried his head in the other man's neck while his hands clenched Kuroo's clothes for help. They stayed like that for a long time - Kuroo with a firm grip on Tsukishima's waist and back and Tsukishima gasping for air and trying to breathe away the tears.  
  
"Do you want to tell me what just happened?", Kuroo's voice sounded strange, even for him and Tsukishima took a deep breath before he broke away from Kuroo's embrace and looked at him with wide, suffering eyes.  
"Do you really want to know?", The blonde sounded as if his heart was about to be ripped out and Kuroo had to swallow again to suppress the burgeoning feeling.  
  
He couldn't say if he really wanted to know what was wrong with Tsukishima - _that was a lie, he wanted to know for sure_ , but the fear of the answer sat like a predator in his neck and already set its sharp fangs, to break Kuroo's skin. The man in front of him, the man he had only known for a day, had turned everything upside down with such ease that Kuroo became very dizzy, The thought, that under this facade there were probably much darker secrets waiting for him, made him hesitate. All of his life had been devoted to learning and teaching, to get-togethers with his friends and to support the Pharaoh and now he stood here - in front of him a man who threw him off course with a single look from those devilish golden eyes and was just about to eat his way under his skin like a scarab.  
  
Should he pursue his wish and uncover all the little secrets of this man, plunge into the depths from which there was perhaps no way out, or should he flee and return to his old, so beloved life?  
  
Was he ready to taste the nectar of the hidden, the fruit of knowledge?  
  
Another look into the golden topaz-eyes in front of him, which searched for his help and his answer gushed out of him like water from a spring.  
  
"Yes. Please."

Darkness enveloped them. The torches on the walls distorted their shadows into obscure shapes as the two men hurried hand in hand through the corridors and did not stop until the door to their study had closed noisily behind them.  
  
Immediately Tsukishima moved a few steps away from Kuroo, the robe fell to the floor with a rustle and a heartbeat later the blonde man was standing in front of Kuroo, dressed only in white linen.  
  
As in the night before, the skin seemed to shine like silver under the light of the beginning moon and a renewed burning desire to embrace Tsukishima and cover his neck with kisses burned up in Kuroo. Tsukishima let his hand wander slowly in the moonlight, the light painting delicate patterns on his skin. It was almost like Tsukishima was a sheet of papyrus and the moon was pouring its ink over him.  
  
Kuroo stepped carefully closer, Tsukishima's golden eyes resting on him, waiting.  
"Didn't you want to tell me your secret?" Kuroo's eyes darted over the exposed skin.  
The blonde man backed away a little until he was completely enveloped in the moonlight and smiled cautiously.  
"I think you will understand more when you experience it firsthand."  
And with this statement, Tsukishima pulled Kuroo into the moonlight and pressed his hands onto his illuminated upper body.  
  
The first touch of their skin sent an electric shock through Kuroo's hands and it did cost him all conviction not to flinch, instead his hands ran groping, exploring, testing over the skin, which was even softer than he had assumed. A breathy murmur escaped Tsukishima as Kuroo's fingers ran lightly over his collarbones. Tsukishima leaned his head back and enjoyed the touch of the older man for a few quiet minutes, in which the only sounds were soft sighs and their pounding heartbeat. As if in a trance, Kuroo traced every inch of skin that Tsukishima let him touch and the desire to replace his fingers with lips or teeth grew stronger by the second.  
  
"A long time ago my people in Edfu worshiped the sun god Re.", Tsukishima's voice permeated to Kuroo like through a fog, it sounded strange and far away and the urge in Kuroo to pull Tsukishima at him with all his strength burned in the back of his head, set his skin on fire. With difficulty, the young man managed to concentrate his senses on the blonde's voice, who continued to speak calmly and deliberately.  
  
“My ancestors sanctified him day and night, building temples and statues to thank him for the rich harvest that he brought us. But one day Re brought a drought to our country, everyone assumed we hadn't paid enough tribute, but the fact was that Re is an ungrateful, cruel god."  
Tsukishima paused as Kuroo's hand brushed his stomach and worked its way up to his waist in slow circles.  
“He had decided that our people were no longer worthy of his grace and in his infinite anger he destroyed our fields, our crops and exterminated almost the entire people. At that time, many families left the country hoping to start a new life elsewhere. However, the families that remained looked for a new patron god for Edfu."  
  
The man paused again and Kuroo's hands had also stopped, his sight and his senses suddenly sharper than ever before and he looked into the suffering golden eyes above him.  
“The Tsukishima family decided to worship Iah, the goddess of the moon. At first it seemed as if our country was saved. Under the watchful eyes of Iah, our fields blossomed, nature recovered and we lived in peace for two whole years. Until one day Re, in his resentful, never-forgetting manner, took revenge on the country's betrayal."  
Kuroo's hand shook and it took a moment until he realized that it was not coming from him but from Tsukishima, who was still looking at him and grimacing sadly.

“Re swept our land like a firestorm and it almost looked like we were going to lose everything again, but this time Iah stepped in and faced him. In a battle between the moon and the sun there could only be losers. And that were the people of Edfu."  
A first tear dripped to the floor and Kuroo closed his arms tightly around Tsukishima's trembling body.  
“Re put a curse on the Tsukishima family. The youngest child in the family now always receives the beauty and intelligence of a god, but is punished with an appearance that makes a normal life almost impossible.  
As soon as I come into contact with sunlight I start to glow as a sign of my curse. Some may think that this is only a mild curse in contrast to eternal disfigurement or a plague of locusts, but the sight of me arouses in people the desire to _possess_ me."  
  
This statement wrapped itself around Kuroo's neck like a sling and he swallowed dryly. Even the moment he looked at Tsukishima for the first time, he had already cherished the idea of wanting to hold this man in his arms.  
  
“It makes it impossible for me to approach people normally. Sooner or later they'll go insane and I'll have no way of escaping. They crave me like a life-sustaining water, they need my body like the air to breathe."  
Tsukishima ran one of his hands over Kuroo's arm, fixed his gaze on an indefinite point on the floor, and exhaled audibly.  
  
“Iah couldn't undo the curse, but she could alleviate it. While during the day I look like the greatest treasure to all the people who take a look at my sunshine-infested skin, at night I'm able to completely disappear into the crowd, to become almost invisible."  
  
"Wait -" Kuroo paused and thought for a moment before continuing. “But the first time I saw you in the moonlight, you looked like a creature of the gods. I don't want to scare you, but if you had been immersed in a crowd that evening, I would probably have found you immediately. Your skin, it shone like liquid silver and moonlight."  
  
A tiny smile played on Tsukishima's lips and he nodded. "That, Tetsurou-san, is the reason why I'm here."  
  
"Please excuse me." muttered Kuroo, looking at Tsukishima's golden eyes, "I don't quite understand."  
" _You_ are the person I've been looking for all my life.", Tsukishima smiled and suddenly pressed his hand against Kuroo's chest, who only now noticed that his heart was pounding staccato against his chest.  
  
“Iah couldn't undo the curse, but she promised the family, that in every generation from now on there would be a person who would be able to look beyond our sun form and recognize our true self. A person, who would make it possible for us to be ourselves and with whom our curse would gradually weaken. But this person could be anywhere."  
  
The hand on his chest brushed up until Tsukishima lifted Kuroo's chin slightly and looked him straight in the eye.  
“Only when I heard from a young, kind high priest at the court of the Pharaoh, who was loved by the people and respected by the court, did I feel that my destiny was leading me to Thebes. You, Tetsurou, were the first person who ever looked at me under the moonlight as if I would mean _the world_."  
  
It was as if the world had held its breath - something deep inside Kuroo shook under the words of Tsukishima, gasped for air, wanted to come to the surface and devour the young man in front of him whole. Never in his life had he longed so much for closeness, for the body warmth of another person and every second he stared at Tsukishima in a speechless manner, the desire to embrace him tighter than anyone ever did grew.  
  
Forgotten was the fact that he had only known Tsukishima for one day, that he was his teacher and also a man, the only thing that counted was the grateful look that Tsukishima gave him at that moment. A hot chill ran down his back and for the second time within a few hours his body burned like it was covered in flames and he gasped for air, overwhelmed.

How could he - a simple man from Bubastis, be the salvation for a person whose entire being shone brighter than sun and moon combined?

Kuroo opened his mouth, ready to say words that were irrelevant to all of this, but all that left his mouth was a choppy gasp when Tsukishima suddenly pulled him towards him with all his might and pressed his lips to Kuroo's.  
  
 _It was as if the sky crashed over their heads._  
  
Stars flickered in front of Kuroo's eyes and everything in him pulled, tugged, pushed him in the direction of the man who held his chin for help and kissed him as if there would be no tomorrow. Like drowning people they parted from each other again and again, gasping for air, only to find themselves back in the other's embrace a moment later. Time and space no longer played a role, all that counted were the burning fingers that continuously stroked every accessible inch of bare skin and brought the world to a halt.  
  
"Tetsurou!", Tsukishima gasped, literally whimpered his name between the kisses, the lips moist with saliva and swollen from the force of their kisses, the unstoppable desire to get closer than humanly possible.  
"Kei, Kei, Kei.", Kuroo mumbled his name in a whispered mantra, his hands now buried in his blond curls and he felt the shaking of Tsukishima as his name rolled over and over again of his lips.  
  
“I knew it was you when you first looked at me. God - " Tsukishima gasped when Kuroo pulled his hair lightly," I couldn't think of anything else but that I finally found you."  
"And that's why you came so close to me?", Kuroo muttered between two particularly long kisses and in response got a slight bite on his lower lip, that made him shudder.  
  
“I wanted to touch you instantly, I was so damn happy. You don't know how long I've been looking for you Tetsurou, Tetsu- _ahhh_ ”, Tsukishima gasped and groaned hoarsely. Kuroo's burning hands had found their way over Tsukishima's back and scratched streaks into the flawless skin of the blonde, which would probably be seen forever.  
"You give me the chance to shine for you day and night.", Tsukishima muttered and a whimpered moan broke away from Kuroo as Tsukishima muttered a quiet " _Thank you_." in his ear.

As if in a trance, the two men stumbled tightly embraced from the study into their chamber and Kuroo couldn't get out of his robe fast enough, Tsukishima tugged so impatiently at the fabrics. Over and over again the man whimpered Kuroo's name and it felt as if his head was spinning, so much every noise, every little whimper of the other clouded him. As if he had never done anything else, Kuroo's teeth brushed Tsukishima's neck, scraped the sensitive skin on the collarbone and shortly afterwards turned to the blonde's stiff nipples. Tsukishima seemed to completely lose touch with time and space, reared up with every bite, whimpered and moaned in the most beautiful melodies. The blonde's hands buried themselves in Kuroo's hair and dragged him over and over into breathless kisses, which the man returned just as desperately.  
  
“Tetsu, Tetsurou. I - “, Tsukishima turned back and forth, eyes shiny and unfocused, completely detached from the here and now.  
"I'm here. I got you.", Kuroo breathed and Tsukishima nodded, nodded as if he would have to convince himself of it, when Kuroo slid further down and digged his teeth into Tsukishima's hip. The man below shuddered, gasped for air and Kuroo had never felt so much in the right place in his life as he did now.  
  
As if his entire life had only worked towards this one moment, he buried his teeth in the glowing skin and bathed in the melody of Tsukishima's sighs, his whimpers, his _moans_.  
  
A deep growl broke out of his throat, so strange to his ears, when Tsukishima pulled his hair again and begged, _oh_ , he was begging _so much_.  
"Tetsu, _please,_ Tetsurou, my body is burning up, I can't -"  
"Shhhh", Kuroo kissed Tsukishima's belly, under which the muscles tensed again and again, and he pressed more kisses all over his bite marks.  
  
Nothing he had ever known or thought made sense any more - not his work, not his beliefs, and not his friends either.  
It felt as if every second that he spent longer in the burning proximity of Tsukishima, his entire self was reoriented and only had one desire - to make Tsukishima scream.  
  
And that he did.  
  
Tsukishima's back literally arched when the black-haired man jerked off the loincloth over the pulsating heat and, without wasting a single thought, closed his lips around it. Like the sweetest ambrosia, the most forbidden wine, the taste of the new and unknown spread in Kuroo's mouth and he groaned around Tsukishima's length, while the latter only made incomprehensible noises, his eyes rolled back and both hands trembled in Kuroos Hair.  
  
Kuroo had never felt anything like this in his life, never wanted anything _so badly_.  
  
Gasping, he moved his head, the hot length of the other laid heavy on his tongue and robbed his senses. Below him the Son of the Moon whimpered helplessly, gasped for air and seemed to have completely forgotten where he was. Kuroo's hands dug into Tsukishima's hips, scratching the fine white skin. Tsukishima gasped over and over again, a mess of tears, sweat and a pounding heartbeat, that reminded them both that they were still alive and not long ago in one of the many fantastic dimensions of their gods.  
  
After a particularly deep moan and Kuroo's tongue pressed against Tsukishima's length, the blonde screamed - loud and shrill, eyes wide, unable to give any further human reaction and shortly afterwards Kuroos felt fluid run down his throat.  
  
Involuntarily he swallowed around the spent length of Tsukishima and elicited tremors from the other, which covered the whole body. It took a long moment before Kuroo's hand came off Tsukishima's hip and wiped a few sweaty strands from the blond's face.

Tsukishima just laid there, breathing heavily, staring at the ceiling with a transfigured look.  
  
"Tetsurou.", He mumbled, "Tetsu ..."  
Kuroo crawled up, ignoring the infinite heat in his loins as everything that went through his head was screaming for Kuroo to make Tsukishima feel like he was more than the result of a war of gods.  
"What is it, Moonshine?" He asked and Tsukishima pressed his face into Kuroo's hand, which was still brushing his strands to one side.  
The blonde man took his hand and breathed light kisses on every single finger before glaring at Kuroo with his golden eyes and whispered:  
  
 _"Give me more of this feeling."_  
  
A jerk went through Kuroo's body and a moment later his lips found those of Tsukishima, groaning in his mouth, tongues connected, not intending to part again. With one hand he awkwardly pulled the loincloth from his own hips, the sudden coolness sent shivers down his body and he began to rub against Tsukishima.  
  
"Tetsu-Tetsu!", The blonde whimpered again and clung to Kuroo like a drowning man. Somewhere in the back of Kuroo's mind Akaashi called out to him that he now had to find something to prepare Tsukishima and that Bokuto's much too loud voice ranted about the functionality of oil at such moments. Suddenly Kuroo was more than grateful that his friends hadn't paid any attention to the fact, that all these things didn't really interested him and were none of his business, because while he was still pressing his mouth on Tsukishima's, he groped blindly for the little oil vial on the bedside table.  
  
After the liquid wetted two of his fingers, Kuroo gasped for air, unwilling to miss a single small reaction in his intoxication or even to hurt Tsukishima.  
"Moonshine," he pressed out between his teeth as Tsukishima tried to catch his lips again. "I have to-"  
The rest of his sentence was drowned in a throaty groan as Tsukishima unexpectedly moved backwards, pressing his ass against Kuroo's arousal.  
  
"Don't make me wait.", Tsukishima whispered, his voice hoarse from moaning, "I've waited far too long."  
  
Again he moved towards Kuroo and looked him straight in the eye. “Twenty long damn years. Looking for you every single day. I don't want to wait any more. _Please_."  
And as if something had torn in Kuroo, his heart began to race and he pressed two fingers into the waiting heat of the blonde with an apologetic bite on the shoulder.  
  
As before, Tsukishima reared up, mumbled incomprehensible words in Kuroo's hair and whined at every little movement that Kuroo made in him.  
Kuroo himself could hardly stop himself from thrusting into Tsukishima right away, his insides welcomed him so hotly and seemed to greedily take in both of his fingers.  
"Kei, you feel fantastic," he whispered in Tsukishima's ear and the blonde shivered.  
His fingers pressed deeper and deeper, eliciting sounds from Tsukishima that Kuroo would never forget and suddenly the blonde gasped in surprise and writhed under Kuroo's grip.  
  
"Wh-what ?!", was all Tsukishima managed to say, eyes wide and a throaty whimper escaped him, when Kuroo moved his fingers at exactly the same angle as before.

  
Unending pleasure was promised to those who reached the kingdom of gods sinlessly, but just as Tsukishima's eyes rolled back at this moment and the blonde's body was again stretched to the extreme, this state seemed to be achievable in the human world. Kuroo fingered the man under him for another breath, then he reached for the oil vial again and covered his length in the liquid.  
  
Carefully he lined up with the entrance of the blonde and buried his second hand in the back of Tsukishima's neck to pull him into an engaging kiss, before he slowly pushed himself into Tsukishima.

It was as if Kuroo's entire existence had only steered towards this moment, because when he was completely immersed in Tsukishima it became quiet around them. Not even the chirping of the crickets could be heard when Tsukishima opened his mouth and just looked at Kuroo with blissful eyes and then for the second time that evening tears ran down the blonde's cheeks. Tsukishima gasped, a grateful smile played on his lips and he buried his hands in Kuroo's hair before nodding and Kuroo loosening his stiffness.  
  
The first thrust was almost too much for the black-haired man. The heat that surrounded him and Tsukishima's completely exhausted smile drove him closer and closer to his own orgasm and he was sure that he would never have such a magical moment again in his whole life, like right now.  
  
"Tetsu.", gasped Tsukishima, "Tetsu, _please_."  
"Yes Moonshine. I know. ", Kuroo clawed a little tighter into the mat below them and then he started a fast, steady pace that made them both groan. Tsukishima's face was red, tears ran down his cheeks and he whimpered with every movement, his mouth half open. Kuroo himself clenched his teeth because everything around him just felt so good and he didn't want it to end. Instead he closed his eyes and drove them both further forward until Tsukishima only bored his teeth into Kuroo's shoulder out of sheer excessive strain and clung to him trembling.  
  
"I, I Tetsu, I -"  
"Yes, Kei, soon!", Kuroo whispered and kissed Tsukishima's sweaty forehead, while he felt himself approaching the end.  
  
"TETSU!", Tsukishima came with a scream a second time that evening and the sudden tightness also pushed Kuroo over the cliff, so that the man tremblingly pressed his head to Tsukishima's neck and gasped for air.  
  
The moonlight drew pictures on the exhausted bodies, which were laying together on a bed that was way too small, breathing hard, and one of which shone strangely silver in the moonlight.  
In the distance a couple of cranes rose up into the starry night and somewhere you could hear the soft howling of a dog, but if you listened carefully you could hear whispered caresses in one of the many rooms in the Malqata, that did not fade until the early morning hours.

Tsukishima's feet dangled lazily in the water as he leaned his back on Kuroo's chest and flicked another stone into the ceremonial lake, while the man behind him read from one of his textbooks. After last night they had moved their lesson to the quiet togetherness in the garden. And even if Tsukishima still had to wear a hooded tunic, the young man visibly relaxed in the sunshine and sometimes even playfully let Kuroo catch a glimpse of his shiny skin.  
  
"You know, my brother or my father were never the ones who sent me here." Tsukishima said after a while and chewed on a fig lost in thought.  
Kuroo paused in his texts and leaned his head on Tsukishima's shoulder so that he could watch the blonde's face.  
“Akiteru and my father always wanted to protect me, so they decided that I would have to stay in their care for the rest of my life. But can you imagine how quickly you will go insane when you know that someone is waiting for you out there who can understand you and help you and you are not allowed to look for them? "  
  
Kuroo grunted understandingly and let Tsukishima feed him a fig before the blonde continued.  
“When I found out about your existence a few weeks ago, I immediately felt a pull in me. I just knew you could help me. So I wrote a letter to Pharaoh on behalf of my father and asked for my education. But instead of sending the letter and waiting for an answer, I set out on my own in a night action."  
He chuckled softly.  
“At this point I would like to thank my best friend Yamaguchi, who by the way will also be here in two weeks to start an apprenticeship as a jeweler. He made sure that I could escape from the village undetected. "  
  
Kuroo frowned. “But why did Pharaoh tell me that I can't leave you alone? Did he know about your condition? "  
Tsukishima leaned back stretched out and continued to snuggle up to Kuroo.  
“You forget that the Pharaoh is the direct line to the gods. A little bird seems to have told him about the Tsukishima curse and he saw through my bluff within five minutes, but in his great kindness offered to help me with my problem. "  
  
Kuroo sent a silent thank you to the Pharaoh and was already thinking about how he could show himself thankful to their ruler when suddenly a loud whistle could be heard and seconds later three familiar figures approached them.  
  
Bokuto had one arm around Akaashi and Kenma trotted behind them at a distance, his head buried in a papyrus roll as usual and only briefly raised his eyes to give Kuroo a knowing smile.  
"Hey Hey Hey! What do my dull old eyes see there! The mysterious beauty has found its place with our old quack!” Bokuto whistled and pulled Akaashi to Kuroo and Tsukishima, the latter seemed a little overwhelmed by the sudden attention.

"Mysterious beauty?" He whispered quietly and Kuroo shrugged his shoulders playfully.  
"Hey! I'm Bokuto, this is my better half Akaashi and the ghost over there is called Kenma! You have to be Tsukishima Kei if I'm not mistaken?"  
The goldsmith held out a hand to Tsukishima with a grin and Tsukishima gave Kuroo a brief look before Kuroo nodded in confirmation and Tsukishima pushed his robe back to shake Bokuto's hand.  
  
As expected, they didn't have to wait a second for the reaction of the other, who made a loud, surprised noise and stared with wide eyes at Tsukishima's shiny skin.  
It was Akaashi who was the first to speak again and smiled at Kuroo in amusement.  
“So that was the big secret of Tsukishima Kei. I said from the start that he wasn't here without a reason."  
  
"You knew about it?", Kuroo asked confused and Akaashi smiled. “Yes, after our conversation I searched through the old district records and found evidence of the Re's curse concerning a certain “Tsukishima” family. But when I wanted to inform you about it last night, you seemed to have figured it out yourself."  
Immediately heat shot in Kuroo's cheeks and Tsukishima hid his face behind his hands when Bokuto laughed out loud.  
"Bastet, this will keep following me forever." Kuroo grumbled.  
"Maybe", Akaashi grinned, "in the end you're a child of Bastet. It's normal for cats to long for the moon, isn't it?"  
  
And in the way that Tsukishima smiled at him afterwards and everything around him became a little easier again, Kuroo couldn't even argue with that.  
  
THE END


End file.
